Energy company faces $5 million suit over noisy wind turbines

Earlier this month, the Walterville, Ore., resident sued Invenergy, an Illinois-based energy company that owns a wind farm he says he had to move away from because it was too noisy.

“It’s hard to explain it to people unless you experience it,” Williams told the Associated Press. “There’s the actual noise that wakes you, but there’s also the infrasound you can’t hear but your body feels. The best I can describe it is like a train or an airplane coming and going.”

The wind farm Williams moved away from contains 50 Invenergy wind turbines. A 2009 noise study found that the farm emitted roughly the same amount of noise as a running stream or humming refrigerator.

Williams is suing Invenergy for noneconomic losses of up to $5 million, as well as economic losses, such as property devaluation, of $170,000. Williams claims he suffers from “emotional distress, deteriorating physical and emotional health, dizziness, inability to sleep, drowsiness, fatigue, headaches, difficulty thinking, irritation and lethargy” as a result of the turbines.